Billionaire, residents clash over building possible tallest towers in West Palm Beach
Billionaire developer Jeff Greene said his One West Palm mixed-use towers should find plenty of customers — both for the office tower and hotel, and the luxury rental apartments, soaring almost 400 feet into the air above downtown.
He has similar plans for a development a few miles north in the Currie Corridor.
"We are on the roof deck of a multi-family apartment building that is all luxury residences," said Greene while giving a construction tour of One West Palm to WPBF 25 News Investigative Reporter Terri Parker.
The views are stunning — showing the ocean, the entire vista of West Palm Beach and the airport.
But during the pandemic, Greene became concerned he couldn't fill the office tower and halted construction for months while he asked to rezone for all residential, which the city denied.
Now, he's convinced the city is booming again and expects to finish in Fall 2022.
Previous coverage: Tallest towers in West Palm Beach under consideration for Northwood, residents fighting back
"There are going to be people living here year-round who want great housing and we’ll fill that," Greene said.
But just to the north, where Greene is also proposing a series of very tall towers, some residents are gearing up for a fight.
"We’re in favor of development, but we’re not in favor of having the tallest building in West Palm Beach," said Portofino resident Peter Fox.
Residents who live near the Currie Corridor along North Flagler Drive, where Greene has bought up property, said it was designed to be a walkable, charming area — not dwarfed by almost 400-foot high buildings.
They made computer renderings based on Greene's designs, which show what they think the buildings will look like.
"It makes absolutely no aesthetic or cultural sense in the Northwood Historic area," Dr. Harold Schwarz said.
"There are always people who say high buildings are bad, we don’t want change; that neighborhood needs change," Greene said.
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Residents are vowing to fight, but Greene said tall buildings are the only thing that makes economic sense.
"We’re not looking to be another Singer Island; we’re not looking to be another Ft. Lauderdale," Fox said.
"The height is the only thing that makes it work, if they don’t want the height it just won’t work," Greene said.
Greene is seeking a height limit zoning change to build his proposed new towers and after the planning board sent staff back to get more input from the community, recently made some concessions to make them shorter.
There is another planning board meeting coming up next week where both sides can argue their points as to whether the city commission should grant Greene's zoning request.
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